Handel - Arminio

A Beautiful Entry in any Handel Collection:
Arminio was not exactly a success by the time of its première - on the contrary. Because of that, it acquired the notorious reputation of being a work of little interest. It is true that it doesn't compare to the greatest Handelian operas, such as Alcina or Orlando, but it is quite on the level of Ariodante, for example. My only observation is that it lacks a "hit" tune, such as Ariodante's "Scherza, infida". However, it has a nice collection of arie di bravura. Now it has been nicely recorded by Virgin and all the praises go to Alan Curtis, the interesting conductor who makes sure that the music sound the most attractive it can - with well-judged tempi, sprightly and beautiful phrasing and a good theatrical atmosphere. The playing of the Complesso Barocco orchestra deserves the warmest applauses. It has a naturality and beauty worthy of the genius of Handel. The cast is very competent, but I feel that casting Handel operas should require only the best singers - and I am not talking of purely technical qualities, but, more than that, of the ones capable of the greatest level of expression. Alas, our cast here is a bit on the cold side. The redeeming feature is luckily the singer taking the main role, Vivica Genaux, whom I knew only from reviews (all of them favourable). She has the necessary naturality in low tessitura, beautiful top notes, amazing agility and is always 100% involved in what she is singing. I hope to see her again in the Handelian repertoire. In the secondary contralto female role, Manuela Custer - in a far less exciting level - is also really pleasing, with a firm tone and spontaneous musicianship. I am inclined to say something good about Dominique Labelle, because I found her velvety tone and clean coloratura to be quite admirable, but I found that she was quite unconcerned about the drama. Then, there is Geraldine McGreevy in the prima dona role. She is a quite "correct" singer, but she's sorely unimpressive for a prima donna role. The voice is not quite distinctive and she lacks charisma in a general way. She would be a nice seconda donna. Another disappointment for me was Luigi Petroni. When I read that a Handel opera would count with an Italian tenor in its cast, I was really curious, but the fact is that Petroni has a nasal tone and not the most flowing of phrasings. The other Italian in the cast, Riccardo Ristori, the bass, is more accomplished, but far from outstanding. Finally, the casting of the male part of Tulio with a countertenor, as usually in Handel's operas, was a big mistake, especially because Handel had a female contralto en travesti in the original performances. Moreover, Stylse Buwalda has an eerie unfocused voice. If you like Handel and are interested in exploring his operatic production, this set is a must. It is beautifully played and recorded and it has a stylish cast. And if you are not familiar with Vivica Genaux, then you have an extra reason to buy it.

I am THRILLED with this opera---and with it's cast!:
I am so glad to have discovered this opera. What a magnificent cast! Vivica Genaux \oArminio\c and Geraldine McGreevy \oTusnelda\c are a JOY to behold and hear!

Very Worthwhile Despite Weaknesses:
George Frideric Handel (1685 - 1759): Arminio. Opera in 3 Acts with a libretto by Antonio Salvi. Cast: Vivica Genaux, mezzosoprano (Arminio); Geraldine McGreevy, soprano (Tusnelda); Dominique Labelle, soprano (Sigismondo); Manuela Custer, mezzosoprano (Ramise); Luigi Petroni, tenor (Varo); Sytse Buwalda, countertenor (Tullio); Riccardo Ristori, bass (Segeste); Il Complesso Barocco, dir. Alan Curtis. Recorded at the Teatro dei Rozzi in Siena, Italy, in July 2000, and released in 2001 by Virgin Classics (EMI) as 7243 5 45461 2 9. Total playing time: 146'26". "Arminio" must be considered as one of Handel's minor operatic works, even though it contains some very attractive, but generally rather conventional music. It was staged by Handel himself towards the end of his career as impresario (1737) and only had six performances, its reception being so bad that it was never staged again until the 20th century. The main problem, of course, is not the music but the libretto, the Italian original (based on Tacitus) having been shortened almost to the point of unintelligibity for the London stage (Handel's English audiences had a notorious dislike of Italian recitative). All this is the subject of Alan Curtis's introductory essay in the documentation, which is here pleasingly complemented by a radio talk given by Donna Leon, explaining some of the intricacies of the "plot", such as it is. I found these essays attractive reading, but was a little disappointed to find that the libretto in the booklet was given only in Italian and in the "translation" used by Handel himself in the 18th century, this being, in fact, anything but literal and blowing up the fairly sane Italian text with Georgian poetic bombast. Despite Donna Leon's misgivings about the plot, I found the moral conflicts involved in the various dilemmas facing the characters to be quite challenging. Yes, of course the 18th century had its conventions, but I still prefer a good opera seria with its often cathartic approach to, say, a 19th century Verismo opera or to the decadence of Viennese operetta. I agree with another reviewer that the instrumental side of this performance is the greatest highlight, with Alan Curtis's conducting proving him once again to be one of the "grand old men" of the revival of Handel's operas. His choice of singers, on the other hand, is a matter of taste. Vivica Genaux, of course, needs no recommendation from the likes of me; since her album of "Arias for Farinelli" she has been a Handelian star, and her performance as Arminio is beyond criticism. Her rich, dark, creamy mezzo combines with a fire in her declamation which lifts her head and shoulders above the rest of the cast. Dominique Labelle as Sigismondo, the indecisive son of Arminio's enemy Segeste (and the equally indecisive lover of Arminio's sister Ramise), has a pleasingly agile soprano voice which grew on me while listening to these CDs. Geraldine McGreevy, Tusnelda, is a singer I had not come across anywhere before, and I felt that her performance was one which improved during the opera - at the beginning she seemed remarkably "cool" (not to say, cold), and even at the end, when she has some beautiful arias, I felt that a little more "fuoco" would have enhanced her performance. Manuela Custer, mezzo, was a satisfying Ramise. The male voices, on the other hand, were somewhat disappointing. Sytse Buwalda, countertenor, is able to sing Tullio quite plesantly, but he certainly isn't in the Andreas Scholl class, his timbre sounding falsetto-like and reminding me rather of some of the efforts at countertenor in the 80s. Segeste (Riccardo Ristori) remains surprisingly pale for a villain of his calibre, but it is the tenor part of Varo which here really seems to be the Achilles heel of the production. Without wishing to be unkind, I felt on a number of occasions that I wanted, literally, to shake this Italian performer into a bit of temperament; I think the best I can say of him is that he was involved in the production. All in all, this is, despite the weaknesses, a very worthwhile project which has closed one of the last gaps in the Handel opera discography and provides some excellent insights into the way Handel combined genius with convention in the battle for survival as an impresario.